Injury still is troublesome
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Ben Roethlisberger said he felt good enough Sunday to move around in the pocket. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best decision.
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Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin seem to be at odds over the extent of the quarterback's high ankle sprain and whether he came through the Cleveland game no worse for the wear.
Roethlisberger said Wednesday he had a setback Sunday in Cleveland. This came after Tomlin said Tuesday that he didn't have a setback and proclaimed his quarterback's ankle "OK."
Perhaps it's merely semantics, or a coach not wanting to give more information than required. This wouldn't be the first time Roethlisberger and his coach had a public difference of opinion over an injury. When Bill Cowher coached him, there were several, starting with the case of some broken toes in the 2004 AFC championship game.
Whatever it is, Roethlisberger didn't practice Wednesday and again hobbled heavily on his injured left ankle.
"I felt really good going in the Cleveland game," Roethlisberger said. "I had a little setback early in the third quarter, so we're working really hard right now with the trainers and doctors to get back to even where we were before the Cleveland game.
"Because I felt pretty good going in, I moved [around] a little bit at the beginning of that game, but [there was] a little setback. ... We got set back by about a week."
Roethlisberger played the entire game in Cleveland after sitting out the previous week against St. Louis. The injury occurred Dec. 8 in the second quarter against Cleveland. He finished that game and played Dec. 19 in San Francisco, a 20-3 loss.
In his past two games, Roethlisberger has completed 48 of 84 passes for 551 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions, which dragged down his passer rating for the season to 90.1.
Roethlisberger wasn't sure how he reinjured his left ankle in Cleveland. "I don't know if I caught it on the ground wrong or got hit."
At Tomlin's news conference, the coach was asked if he would characterize Roethlisberger's injury as no worse this week.
"Certainly, I would characterize it as no worse," Tomlin said. "I have yet to see him, of course, today. We will see how he is moving forward. I mentioned [the injured ankle] because of protocol, to be quite honest with you. You have to acknowledge existing injuries, moving forward, it is NFL protocol. I am not overly concerned about his physical state and preparation for this game."
First Published January 5, 2012 12:00 am
